Teaching at Maverick Hunter Academy
by mariannesinger16
Summary: Sequel to Maverick Hunter Academy. Now that the war is finally over, X and Zero have decided to take up teaching at their old school. Bored with the slow-paced action at Base, Axl decides to join them. But, he keeps having headaches and a constant feel of nausea. What's becoming of the young Prototype? XAlia, ZeLay, and AxPal included. AxPal focus. My one-year anniversary fic!
1. Back in school

X's p.o.v.

An excited smile worked its way onto my face as my heart began to dance. I was staring at the nostalgic sight of Maverick Hunter Academy, the training place for Maverick Hunters like myself.

"It's great to be back here," I said to my red clad friend next to me. "I hope you remember this place, Zero."

"Why wouldn't I?" he asked as he walked towards the door. "This _is_ where I became a Hunter."

"That's not what I meant, stupid, this is where we met."

"Oh, yes," Zero said, still moving. "Those were some pretty fun days."

"Yes, the fun days when you forced me to become a Hunter and then raped me."

"I was a stupid teenager, all right?" I couldn't help but let out a chuckle at his anger. "Why're _you_ laughing? You were the one who had to go through all of that."

"What do you expect me to do when remembering all of that craziness?" I asked, still mildly chuckling. "I was so pathetic!"

Zero looked away from me at the walls.

"Yeah, sorry I put you through all of that bullshit."

I lightly shoved him.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I said I forgave you years ago, didn't I?" He looked at me with a small smile right as we reached the main office. "Well, here we are. You ready, buddy?"

"That's why I'm here."

We opened the door to see a light orange female Reploid with her long yellow hair in a braid. We saluted her.

"We're Mega Man X and Zero from Maverick Hunter HQ," I said sternly. "We're here for our first day as teachers. You're Miss Kamuzo, right?"

"Yes, welcome to the Academy, boys," she said as she handed us some papers. "Here are the classes you'll be teaching, starting later today."

"Thank you, Miss," we said in unison.

Alia's p.o.v.

I sat at my usual desk where I normally scan several areas, but I couldn't focus on the screen. I was doing something I usually don't do, I was counting down until my hours were over.

"Miss Alia?" a deep voice said, snapping me out of my daze. "Are you all right?"

"Oh, yes, Layer, I'm fine," I responded. "I'm just worried that HQ might be losing some of its touch with X and Zero gone."

"Well, I wouldn't worry too much about that. We still have Axl and our most experienced Navigator still still on duty. We'll be fine."

Pallette walked up to us, pretending to cry.

"Oh, Layer," she said with a sniffle. "You're being so strong, pretending to be a-okay with your boyfriend being gone."

"Would you stop that, Pallette!?" Layer cried, her worried yellow eye appearing through her purple bangs. "Zero is _not_ my boyfriend!"

"No..." The blonde gave her a sly smirk. "He's just..." She whispered in her ear, "Your own personal Hun-ter~"

Layer's face turned completely red as she punched Pallette into the floor.

"Leave me alone, Pallette!"

Even though I saw this same scenario everyday, I couldn't help but chuckle. I turned back to the clock, seeing I had only two minutes until I was let out for the day. As I gripped my arm trying to sustain myself, I remembered something.

"Wait a second, Pallette, aren't you supposed to be guiding Axl on his mission?"

"He just got done," the younger girl said as she stood up, rubbing the bump on her head. "And he wouldn't stop spouting flirty bullshit through my mic, so I disconnected him."

A black beam flashed into the room, revealing a red haired 6'5 child-designed Reploid.

"Well, hello, ladies," he said cockily. "I am back from my quite easy mission, and I thank all three of you beautiful ladies for supporting me."

"Welcome back, Axl," Pallette said, rolling her eyes.

"Hello, Pallette," Axl responded with a cheerful smile as he put his gun away to put his arm around her. "You know, we should probably get some time alo-" She put her gun to his chin. "-Or not." He backed away.

The timer went off.

"All right!" I cheered as I stood up. "I'm off for the day, I'll see you guys later."

"Uh, bye, Alia-" Axl's farewell was cut off by the slamming of a door.

I rushed down the road with an excited smile on my face. It was the day. It was the day I had been waiting for for ten long years. Finally, all of my efforts would soon be rewarded.

In about half an hour, I reached Maverick Hunter Academy.

"Miss Kamuzo," I said to the woman at the desk. "Are the new teachers Mega Man X and Zero still here?"

"Oh, no, you just missed them. Sorry."

"That's okay," I said with a sigh.

As I walked outside, I stared at the sky and held my fist to my chest. I would definitely see him the next day.

Axl's p.o.v.

"Hey there, Pallette!" I called out to my Navigator the next afternoon. "Since you're my official Navigator now, how about we have a drink together?"

She sighed and frowned at me.

"For the final time, I'm just your Navigator. I'm not going out with you."

I grunted and wrapped my arms around her waist from behind.

"Come on!" I whined. "Without X and Zero around this place is so boring!"

A swift kick sent me flying into the wall.

" **If you're bored, go see your superiors and leave me in peace**!"

I sat up as a light bulb went off.

"Thanks a lot, Pallette! You just gave me an idea!"

In half an hour, two bright green angry eyes were glaring at me.

"What're you doing here?" X growled.

"Base is so boring without you two," I said. "So I decided to take teaching at the Maverick Hunter Academy as a side job."

"Are you fucking serious, Axl!?" my superior snapped. "You're telling me you left your post as a Hunter without permission just because you were lonely!?"

"It was my Navigator, Pallette's, idea."

X held his mouth open, trying to find the right words to say. He put his fingers to his forehead and grunted.

"I just can't catch a break with you, can I?" he asked with a sigh. "There's nothing I can do about it now. Have you talked to Miss Kamuzo? She should be telling you which classes you're teaching."

"X," Zero said as he walked into the room. "Alia is-"

A pink Reploid burst past him.

"He's in here, right?" She started running towards us with a large smile. "X!"

"Alia? What is i-"

She tossed herself at him, tightly wrapping her arms around him, making him take a step back.

"Mm! It's a glorious day, isn't it!?" the blonde asked merrily.

"Um, I guess so."

Alia giggled lightly as she moved her head back to look at him, still holding him tightly.

"It's a day you and I have been waiting for for years," she said. "It's a day of peace! Sigma is finally defeated, the war is finally over!"

"Yes, I know," X responded with a relieved smile. "I've been fighting for this peace for what feels like an eternity. I'm glad this pain has finally come to pass."

"That's not all," the pink Reploid said as she brought her hands to her side. "You remember what else comes with this day, don't you?"

"Um, my dream to teach at the Academy?" he said. "I have several fond memories here, so I've always wanted to be a teacher after the war."

"Is this some kind of joke?" Alia asked with her blonde hair covering her eyes. "Well, it's not funny. Don't push my patience, X. You know what I'm talking about."

"I'm afraid to say I don't."

"Don't you dare fuck with me..." She slapped him across the face. "You said that after the war I would be your bride! **You promised to marry me**!"

My mouth hung open. I looked up to see Zero staring dumbfounded at X, with large and narrow eyes.

"... Oh, right," X said nervously, sweat dripping down his face. "I did say that..."

In a state of shock, Zero only manage to cry out an angry, "What!?"

"What do you think you're doing dodging my words, X!?" Alia snapped. "Did you think I would just forget!?"

"I did!"

"Excuse me, X," I said with a pen and notebook handy. "How exactly did you get our hottest Navigator to marry you?"

"You'd better not even think about breaking our promise," Alia growled, oblivious to me. "I worked my ass off being the best Navigator I could be for the past ten years, and I'm not letting that go wi-"

X blocked her bickering with a soft kiss that sent her eye brows to the ceiling.

 _Well, that's one way to shut a bitch up_ , I thought. _I'm so glad I didn't say that out loud_.

He ended the kiss and looked her in the eye with a smile.

"I'm a bit busy right now," he said, "but I promise I'll arrange the marriage soon."

"... Okay," Alia said weakly with a flustered face and a tired smile. "Don't keep me waiting too long, all right?"

"I'll see."

X's p.o.v.

I sat against the wall with my head in my hands.

"I'm such an idiot..."

"Would you mind telling me how you two got engaged?" Zero said angrily. "When we first met her, you were downright terrified of her!"

"Yes, please tell me how you got such a woman," Axl said, holding a pen to a notebook.

I slightly looked up, keeping my hand on my face.

"I was annoyed with how unfocused and boy crazy she always was, so I made a deal that if she could be a serious Navigator, I would be her husband by the end of the war. But after everything that I've gone through, I just forgot."

"Well, that explains why her personality seemed to take a one eighty when she became our Navigator," Zero said. "You can't just reject her, or else she'll turn back into that psycho she was at the Academy."

I sighed.

"I bought myself some time, but you're right. Axl, go get my funeral ready."

"Yes, sir!" the redhead said with a salute as he headed for the door.

He stopped half way through the door, holding his head with a moan.

"You all right?"

"Y-yeah, I just feel a bit nauseous..."

 **A/N: Hey, everyone! Know what today is? It's my one-year anniversary! I've been on Fanfiction for an entire year now! So to celebrate, I decided to make a sequel to one of my favorite stories Maverick Hunter Academy. I'll try to make this story one of my best ones yet to thank all of you. It was this day a year ago that I posted my Mega Man X9 story. Read it if you want, but it was the first story written by a 13-year-old, so don't expect to enjoy it that much. So with my improved writing skills, I'll do my best to thank you for all of the support you've given me with hopefully a great sequel! Until we meet again...**


	2. Settling in

Pallette's p.o.v.

" **What the hell is wrong with you!?** " I cried through my speaker. " **It's literally right there in front of you, can you just not hear me!?** "

"Calm your tiny tits!" my Hunter snapped. "It's not right in front of me, I don't see that Rare Metal anywhere."

I rolled my eyes and sighed.

"I guess I was so spoiled by the activeness of the S Classes. Look, it's simple, Kotobuki, all you have to do is shoot down those rocks and boom! Right in front of you."

"Thank you, now you've actually told me something."

"I've been telling you things since we started the mission!"

"Calm down!"

"Um, Pallette," Layer next to me whispered, blocking out her speaker. "You might wanna tone it down a bit."

"Hmp." I looked away from her with a pout.

* * *

"Why the hell were you being so loud!?" Kotobuki snapped when he teleported into Base. "There's no need to be a little bitch about this!"

"You're absolutely right," I said. "So why were you?"

"Oh, ha ha! You know, you could learn a little respect!"

"Excuse me for being an informative Navigator."

"Why you-"

"Please, don't fight," an angelic voice chimed from the doorway. Cinnamon, our nurse. "Miss Pallette was just doing her job. Are you all right, Kotobuki? Do you need any treatment?"

Kotobuki blushed nervously.

"Oh, I'm not injured at all, no sweat." His gaze averted from her worried face to her rounded chest. "But, maybe you should give me a check-up, just in case."

"Okay!" Cinnamon chimed with a bright smile. "Right this way."

 _Ungrateful little shit_ , I thought to myself.

Axl's p.o.v.

I was walking through a dark pathway. It was impossible to see, but feeling my way through, my sense of touch told me it was a cave.

"What am I doing here?" I thought aloud. "X, Zero, are you here?" No response. "Pallette, am I on a mission?" No response. "Damn it, what's going on?"

A daunting and eerie touch surrounding my chest and covered my mouth. I couldn't scream, and I couldn't move. My gun seemed almost out of reach, and even though a chilling presence was captivating my body, it seemed nothing was behind me.

"You have such a nice body, my little Axl," a deep voice whispered. "So young, so vigorous, so strong..." The way the voice changed almost made my heart stop. "Let me have it."

My breath and my heart beat stopped simultaneously. My hands reached for my throat, desperately trying to cling to my life. Everything seemed unreachable.

"Give it to me. Axl... Axl... _Axl...!_ " The voice changed again, this time to a familiar, gentle voice. "Axl! Oh my God, what the hell happened!? Wake up!"

My eyes shot open. I took several gasps for the precious air that went through my code, and held my chest to feel my quickened heart beat.

"Axl!"

Still panting, I looked up at the worried and relieved face of my superior, along with a dismayed cherubic face of a blonde about my age.

"X...?"

"Are you okay!?" he cried. "You just fainted all of a sudden!"

"Mr Axl, are you all right!?" the girl cried as she tightly wrapped her arms around me. "I did whatever I could, was that enough!? I was so worried about you!"

I didn't have the heart to say I didn't know the girl.

Once I regained my closure, I looked up at X and weakly said,

"Yeah, I'm okay. I guess I'm still a bit worn out after the mission from earlier." _Thank Heaven... It was just a dream. I thought I was gonna die there for a second._

X put a hand to his chest and sighed.

"Thank God you're all right."

The girl seemed like she was on the verge of tears.

"I could never forgive myself as a nurse if something happened to you, Mr Axl!"

Judging from that sentence, I'd come to the conclusion the blonde was our nurse, or something.

"U-uh, don't sweat it, babe."

"B-babe?" She swooned.

"H-hey, don't you go fainting now!"

Zero's p.o.v.

"Good work today, Mr Zero," Kamuzo said as she handed me my paycheck. "Here's your pay, you're free to go."

"Thank you," I responded as I took the paper. My eyes narrowed. "One hundred bolts?"

"Yes, that'll be your pay at the end of each weak," the Principal replied as she sipped her coffee.

My hands hit the desk. "I've been working my ass off for twelve hours everyday training scrawny teenagers who can't hold a Saber properly!" I snapped. "Is all of that really just worth only one hundred bolts!?"

The orangette looked up at me with an annoyed glare.

"I'm the judge on how much your work is worth. If you're not satisfied with the outcome, you're free to quit."

"Tch!"

There was no use arguing with her. I couldn't quit and leave X alone with Axl, so I decided to myself that all of our pay combined would be enough to pay off our hard work, if they felt like sharing.

With a slight frown, I turned around and left. As soon as I opened the door, I bumped into someone who was walking by.

"Oof! I'm sorry." A stream of purple hair danced in front of my face. "Layer?"

"Z-Zero!" With a red face, my Navigator backed off of me. "I-I am so sorry, I didn't know you were coming out!"

"That's okay," I said politely as I stood up. "What're you doing at the Academy, though?" I held out my hand.

Layer slowly put her slender hand in mine, and I quickly pulled her up. She looked at the ground, her bangs covering her yellow eyes.

"I-I um, came to see how you- You, X and Axl were doing. How's teaching at Maverick Hunter Academy working out?"

"It's... kinda tedious, not gonna lie," I sighed. "And the pay is practically a scam. I'm actually heading back to base right now, want to walk with me?"

An excited yellow eye appeared through her bangs with a large blush sitting underneath it.

"S-sure, but um..." She looked up at me with a smile. "Would you mind if I stayed for a bit longer? I haven't been here in almost a year now, and I wanna see how the Saber Dojo and the Navigation class are doing."

I understood how she felt. Even though if you ask me, I'll deny it, but I had a nostalgia rush at just the sight of the Academy, and had to restrain myself from heading into the Saber Dojo.

"Sure thing," I responded with a smile. "I wouldn't mind heading with you. The Saber Dojo was practically my second home back when I was training here."

She blushed.

"O-okay, then let's go."

Layer's bright yellow eyes lit up like stars at the sight of the Dojo. It was happiest I'd ever seen my shy Navigator. Her hand twitched towards her Rapier, doing whatever it took to keep from grabbing it.

"Hey," I said, "if you were in Saber training, how come you became a Navigator?"

"Well..." Her hand stopped twitching. "I always loved to fight with my Rapier, but I was weak. And no matter what I did, I could never seem to get stronger, and... I wanted to help anyway I could, so I decided to take up Navigation class. But, I liked to come back to train in this Dojo every now and then..."

"Weak? I've seen you on the field, your skills are beyond impressive."

The purplette blushed.

"Th-thanks," she said. "But, um, that's just because I kind of trained on my own as I was becoming a Navigator. I don't think I have what it takes to be an official Hunter."

I silently walked into the Dojo. After stopping mid-way, I turned around and pulled out my Z-Saber. With a smirk I said,

"Oh, really? How about we see about that?"

An excited yellow orb made its way through her bangs as an excited smile crossed her face. Layer charge at me with her Rapier, which I quickly blocked.

The chance to spar. That's something I could never do with Iris. As I was sparring with her, I felt happy. It was the happiest I'd been in a while. Maybe it was because she was happy. I'd never seen Layer so excited, or eager. She normally kept to her keyboard and nervously navigated me through a stage.

Within an hour, we were both on the floor, panting. I looked up at her with a sly smile.

"Don't have what it takes, huh?"

She looked back at me, smiling. We just stared into each other's eyes for about half a minute, too exhausted to move or speak.

X's p.o.v.

"I don't know if Pallette is suited to be a flower girl, she's not exactly what I'd call 'poise.' And Layer's a bit too old to be playing a flower girl, isn't she? I'm thinking I should make both of them my bridesmaids."

Alia had been talking about the wedding for about half an hour.

"U-um, Alia, we don't even know when the wedding's gonna be, and I'm still pretty busy-"

"You have the weekends off, don't you?" she asked. "So we'll obviously have it then!"

I didn't respond, I just stared at her nervously, forcing a smile. My life is over!

"I'm glad the war's finally over," she said with a more peaceful tone. "It was hard, having to see you everyday, and not be able to say how much you mean to me..."

A burning sense spread across my face. I snapped my head forward.

"Maybe if you'd done that, I might not've forgotten I proposed."

Alia laughed.

"Your face is red!"

"Shut up, my hard drive is just over heating!"

My face heated even more when she wrapped her arms around mine.

"Were you holding back telling me how cute I was, too?" the pink Reploid teased with a hard to hate smile. I felt my face turn completely red.

"What!? No! I'm serious about my job, why would I be thinking about that!?"

"Because you love me."

A thought blocked me from rebuttaling. Did I love her? I remembered I got a crush on her when I find out _why_ she was desperately love sick, but didn't I grow out of it?

Looking back at her loving smile, I realized that I hadn't. I loved Alia since day one. If I hadn't, then I would have been running for the hills when she reminded me of our promise.

"I guess I do," I said with a smile, my blush calmed, but still there. "I love you, Alia."

I gently pulled her head towards me and leaned in for a kiss. Alia looked up at me and giggled.

"I love you, too, X-ey."

She put her head to my chest, holding my left hand. I put my arm around my war prize, keeping her in my embrace. Maybe marriage wouldn't be as bad as I'd thought.

Axl's p.o.v.

"Hello, Pallette!" I merrily called as I stepped through the door. "Your Hunter is back!"

"Oh, joy," she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "You wasted your time coming here, I'm off my hours as well. I'm going home."

"Oh. Want me to walk you?"

"No thanks, I'm perfectly capable of going home myself. And if you even think about following me, remember that I'm a sniper, too."

I sighed.

"With my new job, it's gonna be hard for us to see each other now. Maybe I could ask Miss Kamuzo to let me go on a lunch break, or something, and I could take you out on a date then."

"Why're you talking like I'm your girlfriend, or something?" Pallette asked with a frown. "For the final time, I don't like you, and I never will. Now leave me alone." She started heading towards the door.

"Sorry, Pallette," I said with a chuckle and a smirk. "But, I won't stop bugging you until you agree to go on a date with me."

Her body froze when she touched the knob.

"I don't see why you want to date me so bad," she said. "Why can't you make like everyone else, and hate me?"

"Huh?" I tilted my head in confusion. "Hate you? No one hates you, Pallette. Everyone loves you, including me."

"Apparently some people hate me. Why're you wasting your time trying to spread my legs? Why don't you go for a more lady like girl like Cinnamon?"

"Who?" The nurse from earlier flashed into my mind. "Oh, you mean our nurse? Um... she's cute, but I don't know her all that well. Plus, you're way more beautiful than she is."

Her grip on the knob tightened.

"You're so damn annoying."

And with that, and a slam from the door, she was gone.

Pallette's p.o.v.

I waited for the street light to change, a scowl on my face.

 _Plus, you're way more beautiful than she is._

"Beautiful?" I repeated. The light finally changed, but I stood still and let the horde of Reploids walk past me. "How am I beautiful?"

 **A/N: Bit of a long, and slow moving chapter, but I felt it was needed to show the relationship between everyone in this Fanfiction. This is one of my first attempts at "showing not telling" types of things, so please tell me how I did. Can't wait for the next chapter. =)**


	3. Lost in Darkness

**A/N: This is going to be a song chapter with the song "Lost in Darkness" by Escape the Fate. Lost in Darkness (C) Escape the Fate, Mega Man X (C) Capcom.**

(music)

?'s p.o.v.

From above the wooden floors, I could see an orange Reploid walking across the room. A smirk crossed my face as saliva dripped down my chin.

 _No,_ I thought. _I have to wait until the right moment._

My saliva dripped past her yellow hair by an inch. A welcoming scent clogged my nostrils. I did my best to contain my joyous laughter as I began to drool.

The poor soul, she didn't even know what was coming to her. She had no idea I was even there. Maybe if she'd been aware of her fate, then the experience would be less terrifying for her.

She just hummed and put her energy in a container. How could I not laugh at her innocent behavior? How could I not drool over her wondrous scent? It was just so amusing.

But, I had to wait for a while longer. After what felt like an eternity, the clock finally struck twelve. My grin stretched across my face, and I couldn't stop drooling. It was taking everything I had not to start laughing, but a small chuckle escaped my lips.

She looked up at the ceiling, not even knowing I was watching her.

(She hears a moan from the top of the stairs.)

"I thought I heard something."

(But, she don't move a thread, she just minds her business.)

 _"I swear these walls have been talkin' to me," she says, " 'cause all I hear are the devil's wishes."_

I slowly came up behind her.

(She feels his breath down her skin and bones.)

Axl's p.o.v.

(Cryin' out in pain-)

"X!? Zero!? Where is everyone!?"

(-but no one knows how to find you. You're lost in darkness.)

It was pitch black, I had no idea where I was. There wasn't even anything in front of me to feel.

(Cryin' out in vain-)

"What's going on!?"

(-but no one knows how to reach you.)

"Can anyone hear me!?"

(You're lost in darkness again.)

"What's happening to me?"

?'s p.o.v.

I dragged her through the dark roads where no one could see me.

(By her hair he drags her in the streets-)

"Someone help me!"

(He's free of other's eyes, there are no glances.)

I held a pistol to her face.

(She cries for help with a gun to her cheek-)

"G-get away from me!"

(-but no one comes, nobody listens.)

A gunshot rang out.

(Her blood runs read all through the street.)

Axl's p.o.v.

(Cryin' out in pain-)

I started punching the walls.

(-but no one knows how to find you.)

My hands started to bleed, but I didn't care.

(You're lost in darkness.)

"Let me out of here!"

(Cryin' out in vain, but-)

"Get me outta here!"

(-no one knows how to reach you. You're lost in darkness.)

"Thank you, my little Axl," a voice behind me whispered. "Your body is very young and sturdy, it made Kamuzo easy to hunt."

(You're lost in darkness.)

"Huh!?"

(You're lost in darkness again.) (Music)

I wanted to turn around and strangle whoever was behind me, but my body wouldn't move. My back was stiff, and my core was weak.

"Wh-who are you?" was all I could say.

"Who am I?" The voice laughed. "I think it's more fun to keep you guessing." A chilling yet burning touch grabbed my mouth and my body. "Unfortunately, I haven't completely embedded your code yet, so if you keep going wild you'll kill both of us. But you'll be mine soon."

 _H-help me_...

When I opened my eyes, the touch was gone. I was drenched in sweat, and my breath slowly went through my lungs. Once my eyes started to focus, I saw I was in my room.

I held my head, panting. That couldn't have been a dream, I felt that chilling touch, I felt my hands bleeding. I looked at my knuckles, and saw that they were fine.

I put my hand to my chest, trying to retard my heartbeat.

"Calm down, Axl," I wheezed, "it was just a nightmare... That's all."

(I can't find my inspiration.)

X burst into my room.

"Axl!"

"Huh? Good morning, X-"

"I need you to call Cinnamon right now! Miss Kamuzo has just been found in the street, severly injured!"

(I can't find my inspiration.)

I felt my blood freeze.

"M-Miss Kamuzo?"

"Yes, Zero and I are heading to the scene right now. I need you to get Cinnamon and meet us there."

(I can't find my inspiration.)

It looked like she'd been shot through the face, and her entire shoulder had a large hole in it, blood flooding the street.

Cinnamon was in tears.

(I can't find my inspiration.)

"I-I'm sorry," she cried. "Sh-she's dead, th-there's nothing I can do..."

Zero put a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay, it looks like she's been dead for a while. There was nothing you could have done."

I stared at her corpse, trembling.

(Cryin' out in pain-)

Was that a dream? Or was it real?

(-but no one knows how to find you.)

Did I kill Miss Kamuzo? Was someone controlling my body? Or was my "dream" all just a coincidence?

(You're lost in darkness. Cryin' out in vain-)

Cinnamon hugged me.

"Don't be scared, Mr Axl, you can get him!"

(-but no one knows how to reach you.)

X raised an eyebrow.

"Are you okay, Axl? It's not like you to shiver at the sight of a corpse."

"U-um, I'm just sad Miss Kamuzo was killed."

(You're lost in darkness.)

I couldn't tell him about my dream, he wouldn't believe me.

(Cryin' out again.)

I thought I was going insane. Maybe the nightmare was just a coincidence, and Miss Kamuzo's death had nothing to do with it.

(No one knows how to find you. You're lost in darkness.)

Covering up my still shaking nerves, I smirked and twirled my pistol around my pointer finger.

"Well, whoever the fucker is that did this is gonna eat my bullets."

(You're lost in darkness.)

"That's more like you."

(Crin' out in vain.)

My hands formed fists.

(No one knows how to reach you.)

Snap out of it, I told myself. It was just a dream, nothing more and nothing less.

(You're lost in darkness.)

I looked up, my eyes narrowed. I would find whoever killed Miss Kamuzo, and eliminate them.

(You're lost in darkness again.)

No matter what.


	4. Maverick Attack

Zero's p.o.v.

"Excuse me, Zero," Alia said as she came up to me. "Have you seen X around anywhere? I need to talk about our relationship."

I blinked in curiosity, but found it to be none of my business. Before I could tell her I hadn't seen him, I saw the Reploid in question sneaking along behind her, motioning me to be quiet.

"Can you hear me, Zero?"

"O-oh, no, I haven't seen him."

"Okay. Thanks anyway."

When she walked away, X pulled me behind a wall.

"Thanks, man. She almost found me."

"Are you hiding from her? You do know that's the worst idea in the book, right?"

"True, but it's the best one in the paragraph I was reading," he responded as he leaned against the wall. "Because of the murder, I'm going to have to postpone our wedding even further. She's going to kill me-"

"Found you!" a peppy voice greeted.

"Alia!" X looked as if he would die for a second. "Uh, I-I wasn't avoid you or any-"

"It looks like we're going to have to postpone our wedding for a while," she interrupted.

"Uh... Yes, that's what I was going to tell you."

 _Liar._

Alia sighed, looking down slightly.

"It was painful to wait, but I guess it won't be too bad for just a bit longer." She held my leader's hands. "But, the minute you find the Maverick, that's when we get married. Okay?"

"A-all right... Promise."

"That's a good boy." She jumped up slightly to peck him near the lips. "Well then, I'll keep my end of the bargain and be a responsible Navigator until you catch them. I'll see you later, boys!"

He slightly waved her off, a light blush tinting his cheeks.

"You know, you confuse me," I said. "You clearly love her-" His blush spread. "-yet you're trying to avoid her when she's concerned about your marriage. Why?"

"Well..." X touched the spot where she kissed him as he continued. "I guess I'm just in denial." He laughed. "I do love her. I love her as much as I do you. But sometimes I guess I don't feel like admitting it."

"Denying love?" I thought aloud as he continued to laugh. "You're really, really confusing sometimes-"

A flash of brown skin and purple hair flashed before my eyes. I felt my face turn red.

"A-anyway, I was about to go scanning the area for the Maverick. I'll see you later, X."

"Okay, bye."

Images of Layer kept appearing before me. I shook my head, telling myself that I was thinking about her because we were talking about love, and she was a bit of a romantic.

Snapping me out of my thoughts was a smaller figure bumping into my chest.

"Ow! Sorry, I didn't see you."

"E-excuse me..."

It was Axl. Dark sockets were under his half open eyes, his back was hunched over, and his skin was extremely pale. He looked as if he would pass out any second.

"Axl? You look terrible, are you all right?"

"I-I'm fine, I just didn't get that much sleep last night," he said weakly. "Sorry I bumped into you, I'm still waking up."

The younger Reploid walked past me, giving me a small salute. I doubted he just didn't get enough sleep, he was always painfully vigorous no matter how little time he spent with his bed.

Axl's p.o.v.

I didn't sleep at all that night. It's not like I was scared, but I didn't want to risk experiencing another nightmare that could tie into another Maverick attack. And the constant nausea I had didn't exactly help.

I held my stomach as I slowly walked down the hall, trying not to vomit or faint.

"Mr Axl?" Cinnamon asked as I passed her office. "Are you okay? You don't look too well."

"Oh, hi," I replied. "Yes, I'm fine, I just didn't sleep too well last night."

"I don't think so." She pulled me by the arm into her office. "Don't be scared, doctors are just there to help you!"

"Cindy-" _That is her name, right?_ "-I'm fine, really, I just went to bed late."

"I insist you let me check up on you!" the blonde argued as she pushed me into a sitting position on a stretcher. "And my name is Cinnamon. But, you can call me whatever you'd like!"

 _Cinnamon_ , I told myself. _Remember that._

"And remember me."

A freezing chill rushed up my spine.

"D-did you say something, Sarah?"

"I said my name is Cinnamon, but you can call me what you'd like, Mr Axl."

I held my head as I fell over on my side.

 _Now I'm hearing voices. I'm definitely going insane._ "You know, Cinny, maybe I should take a check-up."

"Aww..." She started crying. "You still can't get my name right!"

 _Damn it!_

Pallette's p.o.v.

"There you are!" I snapped at my Hunter as he entered the bridge. "What took you so long? You were supposed to be here an hour ago!"

"I'm sorry, Pallette," he said. "I wasn't feeling too well, so I stopped by Ci... The nurse's office, and she went a bit over time-"

"You were with Cinnamon?"

"Cinnamon! Yes, her!"

I lowered my head slightly.

"I see." I looked up with a pout. "It looks like you finally decided to stop wasting your time on me. Now turn communications on, we're gonna look for the Maverick."

"Stop wasting my time with you? It's not what you think, I just wasn't feeling too well-"

"Save it," I snapped, raising my voice. "If you're more interested in dates than you are doing your job, then I'll go look for the Maverick myself!" I grabbed my pistol and headed for the door.

"Wait!" Axl cried as he grabbed my hand. "Being a Maverick Hunter means everything to me. You just misunderstood the situation-"

I pulled away from him.

" **Leave me alone!** " I slammed the door behind me, tightly gripping my pistol. "... Jerk."

The streets were lively, filled with the chattering of several people and Reploid, but it all seemed almost inaudible to me. I honestly didn't get why I was so upset. I wanted Axl to stop chasing me.

"Don't I?" I asked myself.

An ice could touch surrounded my waist and covered my mouth, pulling me into a dark alley.

"You look so delicious," a voice whispered into my ear. "So many codes to eat, so little time..."

Axl's p.o.v.

I couldn't believe my eyes. I was strangling Pallette.

 _No!_ I thought. _Th-that's not me. That can't be me._

Pallette grabbed hold of my hand, struggling to pry it apart.

"Shh... Everything will be over soon."

 _No! No, no! Th-that's my voice, but I didn't say that! Pallette!_ I couldn't move, I couldn't yell, all I could do was cry. _Pallette! Fight it! Stay strong!_

Pallette's p.o.v.

 _I'm right here for you!_

A familiar childish voice rang through my speakers. I immediately recognized it as Axl. Hearing that voice sparked a fire in my code, making me reach for my pistol to shoot my assaulter in the chin.

Their grip immediately loosened around me, allowing me to bolt away and hold my firearm towards them. It was too dark to see their face, but I could tell I missed them, only shooting the side of their face.

To my disgust, they licked the blood off of their hand.

"Quite strong... I think you'll be a much more entertaining dish than my last victim."

My eyes narrowed.

"Are you the one who killed Miss Kamuzo?"

The Maverick's playful chuckled answered my question.

"That's quite a spark in your eyes," they whispered. "You'll be quite the prey indeed."

They held their head, moaning in pain. I quickly shot my pistol, but they managed to evade it, still holding their head.

"Damn it. So he hasn't fully given in yet."

I fired again, and again he dodged it, this time running out of the alley way.

"Get back here!" By the time I ran out to follow him, he was gone.

Axl's p.o.v.

My eyes shot open as I sat up, my body drenched in sweat. I pinched myself constantly, desperately trying to tell myself I was awake.

"D-did I fall asleep? Please tell me that was just a dream... Pallette...!"

I rushed out the door, tightly gripping my guns.

"It wasn't real," I prayed under my breath as I ran through the city streets. "It wasn't real, it wasn't real, it wasn't real..."

I nearly broke into tears when I saw my green clad Navigator in front of me. I tightly hugged her from behind.

"Pallette! Thank goodness you're safe!"

"A-Axl!?" She punched me off of her into the street. "What're you doing sneaking up behind me like that!?"

I started laughing, trying not to cry.

 _Thank God. It really was just a dream._ I stood up and held her hands. "I'm sorry about what happened earlier. It was my fault. If being with Citty bothers you so much, I'll stay away from her."

"What's gotten into you all of a sudden?" Pallette asked. "Anyway, now that you're here, let's start patrolling. I already have a lead on the Maverick. And our nurse's name is _Cinnamon._ "

"Wow, already? You're great at this."

Pallette's p.o.v.

When Axl walked past me, I saw on his face a wound from my gun. My eyes widened in horror.

 _No,_ I thought. _Don't tell me... Axl was the one who...?_

"So what's your lead, my dear?"

"O-oh, um... I-I thought I saw some footprints up ahead. There's nothing connecting them with the Maverick, but we can't leave any stone un-turned."

If he was the one who attacked me, I knew I couldn't tell him about the attack. _No... I-it can't be Axl._

 **A/N: This was short, but I'm pretty proud of it. Sorry, I know it was a long wait, but I was busy with life stuff. So, I hope this is enough to hold you off until the next chapter. More AxPal, ZeLay, and XAli will be coming! Promise!**


	5. Pallette's decision

Pallette's p.o.v.

 _Was Axl the one who attacked me?_ I thought to myself. _Axl wouldn't do that. He's too annoyingly in love with me. Still, I can't just condone the fact he looks like he was shot with my gun._

"Hey, Axl," I said, "what happened to your cheek?"

"M-my cheek?" His face turned slightly blue as he touched his wound. "I-I fell asleep a bit after you left. I uh, must've hurt it then by accident."

I was too worried about how his voice quavered to question why he'd fallen asleep on the job. Was he lying to me?

Axl's p.o.v.

I held my hand against my wounded cheek, trembling.

 _I hurt it in my sleep, I hurt it in my sleep_ , I constantly told myself.

"It wasn't. That ugly bitch shot us when I tried to attack her."

I stopped in my tracks as my code froze. I felt myself slowly going insane. Whose voice was that? Why did I keep hearing it? Did I really attack Pallette?

"Axl," Pallette said as I felt my stomach turn. "Do you think you might ever go Maverick?"

My heart sank. I didn't know what to say.

"N-no! I hate Mavericks! Why!? Do you think I might attack you or something!? Quit being so damn paranoid!"

I angrily walked past her.

Pallette's p.o.v.

I put my hands to my face. It was him.

 _Why, Axl?_ I silently thought to myself. _Why did it have to be you?_

"Keep looking for something," I said slowly, trying to keep my voice from dropping. "I'm going to go report back to Commander Signas."

Before he could stop me, I started sprinting back to base.

Tears flew from my eyes as I ran across the pavement, constantly asking myself why it had to be Axl of all people to betray us.

" **Axl, you jerk!** "

* * *

It only took a few minutes for me to finally arrive. I came to a halt, my hand freezing only an inch away from the door knob.

I constantly told myself to move, and to open the door, but my body wouldn't move no matter what I did.

 _"You could shut up and let me do my job! Your voice is giving me a headache!"_

 _"Why does my navigator looks like a party hat- Never mind! Thank you for helping me."_

 _"Great, she made my ears bleed, and her breasts aren't even big enough to make up for it. I think I'll check in with our nurse Cinnamon."_

 _"You were the one navigating me?"_ Axl had said the first time he came in. _"You're cute!"_

I never admit it, but when I first met my Hunter, my face turned completely red at his compliment.

 _"I-I don't need your compliments. You need to be focusing on your work."_

 _"Ah, a feisty one." He put his arm around me. "I like you. How about after the mission you and I hit the diner?"_

The word change had scared me, making my heart race and my face heat. In an embarrassed rage, I punched him off of me into the wall.

 ** _"Get back to work!"_**

I thought that would be the end of it, but that bastard just kept chasing me. Every single day, no matter how hard I tried to push him out, he kept coming back to get my hand in marriage.

 _"So how about we go out tonight?"_

 _"How long are you gonna continue to ask me that?"_

 _"Until you say yes!"_

My hand fell from the knob to my side.

 _That's right,_ I thought as more tears started to fall down my face. _Axl was the only one who accepted me for who I was and reached out to me..._

I fell to my knees, sobbing into my hands.

 _I can't go back to that time. I don't-_ My sobs grew louder. _I don't want Axl to go!_

"Pallette?" I turned my head around to see Layer looking at me, worried. "What's wrong?"

"Layer," I choked. "I... I don't know what the hell to do!" I tossed myself at her, sobbing into her shoulder.

It was either let Axl, a killing Maverick, go, or stick to my job and sacrifice the only Reploid who even so much as cared about me.

Axl's p.o.v.

I gripped my face, hitting my forehead against the wall of a building.

 _"Think about it,"_ the voice rang. _"Your superiors constantly push you down, even though you know just as well as anybody that you're just as good as they are. Isn't this your chance to get revenge for all of those times, and show the world you're not just a Proto Type? You could even take your precious war prize."_

" **Shut up!** " I roared. " **You're not real!** _**You're not! Real**_!"

The voice grew louder.

 _"You want this, right? Just accept me."_

" **Go away!** " I shot my pistol towards the sky. " **I'll never become a Maverick!** " My knees caved in.

The voice was gone, but I knew it would come back. If I let my guard down for even a second, they would take over me, and make me kill someone I knew and loved.

I sat still and cried towards the tree, my hand covering my eyes.

"I hate Mavericks...!"

Zero's p.o.v.

X's words 'denying love,' and the image of my purple haired navigator kept playing over and over again through my hard drive.

 _Why am I still thinking about that? About her?_ I thought. _Could it be I... I'm-_

"Zero?" I snapped out of my reflections to see Layer standing next to me. "I just found Pallette outside, crying. She's refusing to tell me what about, though, do you think we should be concern-"

"Layer," I interrupted, "kiss me."

Her eyes fluttered as a large blush spread across her face.

"What?"

I grabbed her arms and pulled her closer to me.

"I don't know what's been happening to me. I feel like-" I hesitated to say it. "-I've been denying certain feelings."

Her breath seemed to be caught in her throat as the color in her face began to fade.

"C-certain feelings?"

My arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer to me, desperate for her touch.

"I think I've been denying love," I said, not quite at a yell. "I want to know that I'm still able to feel emotion, I want to hold onto whatever shred of decency I have left!" My grip around her tightened. "Please, Layer. Help me to see that."

She didn't answer, she just nodded and slowly moved closer to me.

" **Zero! Layer!** " a high pitched voice interrupted before our lips could meat.

"Pallette?"

Pallette stood in the door way, crying.

"I was thinking about it," she said. "I didn't want to tell you, because I wanted to protect him. But, I realize now-" She looked up, her eyes narrowed. "-he's not the real him anymore. I need to tell you both... Axl's gone Maverick."

 **A/N: You know, I can't helped but feel I'm being cheated. I mean, I spend several hours of my day typing down Fanfictions, and nobody reviews them. I'm starting to get under motivated here, people. So please drop a review, and the next chapter might come out faster.**


	6. How to save a Life

**A/N: Oh my gosh! So many reviews! XD Well, a promise is a promise. This chapter will be pretty short, but it'll get down some important stuff. It'll be a song chap for the song 'How to save a Life' by the Fray. I own nothing.**

Axl's p.o.v.

(music)

I walked down the halls of HQ, doing my best to keep myself awake. Sitting on the bench in front of me was my blue clad leader, watching me walk up to him.

"Hi, X."

(Step one, you say-)

"Axl," he said. "We need to talk."

(-we need to talk. He walks-)

"O-okay," I nervously replied, sitting next to him.

(-you say sit down, it's just a talk.)

"I uh, heard that you haven't been... yourself lately."

(He smiles politely back at you.)

My eyes fluttered nervously as my stomach churned.

"Really?"

(You stare politely right on through.)

"Yes," X said with a nod. "Tell me, is there anything wrong?"

(Some sort of window to your right.)

" **Yes, I am!** " I yelled. " **Why are you all trying to get into my business!? Leave me alone**!"

(As he goes left, and you stay right-)

I stood up and walked off.

(-between the lines of fear and blame.)

He extended his hand out to me, but stayed still.

(You begin to wonder why you came.)

His dismayed face fell in his hands.

(Where did I go wrong?)

 _"Doesn't he piss you off?"_ the voice asked.

(I lost a friend.)

 _Shut up! You're not even real!_

(Somewhere along in the bitterness.)

 _"You want to kill him and prove you're not just the weak kid he thinks you are."_

(And I would have stayed up with you all night-)

 _I said shut up!_ I punched the wall, gripping to every last ounce of my sanity. _Shut up, shut up! I know perfectly well who I am, I don't need you to tell me!_

(-had I known-)

I leaned against the wall into a sitting position.

(-how to save a life.)

 _Get out of my fucking head..._

(music)

Footsteps sounded in front of me. I looked up to see Zero angrily glaring at me.

"Zero?"

"What're you doing?

(Let him know that you know best-)

Why are you snapping at our leader? You know he knows best.

(-'cause after all, you do know best.)

I'll be straightforward, we've heard that you've gone Maverick."

(Try to slip past his defense.)

My eyes widened, and my heart sank.

(Without granting innocence.)

"Who the hell told you that!? I hate Mavericks!"

(Lay down a list of what is wrong.)

"Pallette told us that you attacked her," X snapped.

(The things you've told him all along.)

 _No,_ I thought. _I-I really did attack Pallette?_

(And pray, the God, He hears you.)

Zero kept glaring at me, as X worriedly stared, his fist shaking.

(And I pray, the God, He hears you.)

" **You're both insane**!" I didn't know what I was doing anymore. I was completely lost in my insanity. " **You're insane**!"

(Where did I go wrong?)

Zero grabbed my wrist.

"The only one who's insane is you!"

(I lost a friend.)

I punched him, making him take a step back.

(Somewhere along in the bitterness.)

"I would never hurt Pallette! And you two are suspecting me of betraying you!?"

(And I would have stayed up-)

X punched me into the wall, pulling out his Buster.

(-with you all night. Had I known-)

" **That's enough, Axl**!" he roared. "You've clearly gone Maverick."

(How to save a life.)

Air swept in and out of my code, trying to calm myself down.

(Music)

I angrily stared at them, my twitching towards my gun.

"And after everything I've done for you two...

(As he begins to raise his voice-)

 **you suspect me of betraying you!? So you decide to push me out before you even give me a fucking chance!?** "

(-you lower yours, and grant him one last choice.)

Zero pulled out his saber, ready to slice me in half, but X put his arm in front of him, still glaring at me.

(Drive until you lose the road.)

"We do trust you, rookie," he said. "But right now, you're not doing a good job of keeping that trust.

(Or break with the ones you've followed.)

So tell us right now, why are you so anxious? Have you really gone Maverick!?"

(He will do one of two things.)

I held my arm, regaining my closure.

(He will admit to everything-)

"Nothing's wrong." I looked up with a broken smile.

(-or he'll say, he's just not the same.)

"I'm just not the same."

(And you'll begin to wonder why you came.)

I weakly walked away to my quarters.

(Where did I go wrong?)

 _Where did I go wrong?_

(I lost a friend.)

" _No where,"_ the voice said.

(Somewhere along in the bitterness.)

" **Shut up!** " I cried, holding my head. " **You're not real! You're _not! Fucking real_!"**

(And I would have stayed up-)

I held my pistol to my head.

(-with you all night. Had I known-)

 _"What're you doing!? Put that down!"_

(-how to save a life.)

Tears ran down my face.

(Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend.)

"I can't take this anymore... I'm done." My finger inched closer to the trigger.

(Somewhere along in the bitterness.)

"You moron! If you kill yourself, I'll die, too!"

(And I would have stayed up with you all night-)

"I don't care," I cried. "I can't take this anymore. First Pallette-"

(-had I known-)

"-then my superiors...

(-how to save a life.)

 **I don't want to hurt anyone else**!"

" **Axl**!"

A stern hand grabbed my gun. X was staring at me with concerned and narrowed eyes.

(How to save a life.)

"X..."

"Axl, what the hell are you doing!?"

He and I stared back at each other.

(How to save a life.)

" **Go away**!"

Standing up, I pushed against him.

(Where did I go wrong?)

"Axl!"

" **Go away, leave me alone! I want to die**!"

(I lost a friend.)

X shot me off of him, taking away my pistol.

(Somewhere along in the bitterness.)

He stood above me, holding up his Buster. I didn't move at all.

(And I would have stayed up-)

I started sobbing.

"X-"

(-had I known-)

I looked up at him.

"-help me..."

(-how to save a life.)

My leader held me close to him.

"It's okay, you're gonna be all right."

(Where did I go wrong?)

I wrapped my arms around him and sobbed.

(I lost a friend.)

"X-" Zero cried as he burst into the room.

(Somewhere along in the bitterness.)

"-what's all that noise!? What's going on!?"

(And I would have stayed up-)

"Zero, get Cinnamon! Axl needs help, right now!"

(-with you all night. Had I known-)

"Help me," I whispered. "I'm insane... I'm completely insane..."

(-how to save a life.)

I seemed to black out. When my conscious came back, the voice was gone. There was quiet. There was peace.

(How to save a life.)

When my eyes opened, I saw I was asleep in the chest of my blue clad leader.

"X..."

Zero was asleep behind me, his arm around the both of us.

I smiled, nearly crying tears of joy. I didn't know if I was dreaming or not, but I didn't care, as long as I didn't have to hear that voice anymore.

(How to save a life.)

I wrapped my arms around X, pulling myself closer into his warmth. Zero seemed to shift closer to us, even though he was still unconscious.

"Peace at last..."

 **A/N: I've been waiting to do that for months. FINALLY WRITTEN DOWN! So anyway, that's it for this chapter. Some more stuff will be revised in the next one. Thanks for reading! Please review for more!**


	7. The voice

Axl's p.o.v.

I told them about the voice in my head, and how I felt it driving me insane. The only solution we had was to temporarily deactivate me to remove whatever was torturing me.

"D-deactivation!?"

"Don't worry, Mr Axl," Cinnamon said. "We'll have you reactivated the moment the "voice" is removed. I promise."

My hands formed a grip. Being deactivated is the most horrifying thing for us Reploids. And if something happened, if they failed to remove the voice, then I would never wake up.

"Axl." A stern hand held mine. I looked up into X's narrowed and serious eyes. "I promise you'll wake up."

I stared at him for a few seconds. With a gulp, I turned off my hard drive.

X's p.o.v.

Axl fell into my chest as he deactivated himself.

"Miss Cinnamon," I said, "I leave Axl to you."

"Don't worry, Leader," the blonde said as she took the deactivated prototype. "I'll be as gentle as I can."

" **X! Zero**!" Alia cried through our speakers. "The west town is being attacked by Mavericks!"

"What!?" I snapped. "You've gotta be kidding me! We can't leave Axl unsupervised-"

"What am I? Chopped liver?" a high pitched voice asked from behind me. "I'm Axl's Navigator, aren't I? I'll be taking care of him, obviously."

I nodded.

"All right. Make sure he stays deactivated, Pallette."

?'s p.o.v.

It was almost painful trying to hold back my laughter, but I had to wait until the Hunters were gone from the scene.

Once they were out and my host was on a stretcher, I let loose my joy.

"You morons! You fucking idiots!"

"M-Mr Axl?"

I fully consumed Axl's armor, turning it to a dark shade of purple and white.

"So many codes to eat, so little time."

My fangs dug into a Reploid next to the stretcher, consuming their blood. Screams of terror filled the room as the alarm went off.

Blood dripped from my jaws as I snickered at my surrounding prey. Backing away slowly, fear written all over their faces, practically begging me to eat their hearts out.

I charged at another, indulging in their taste. More Hunters burst into the room, which caused my smile to widen.

"Wait!" a high voice cried. "Mr Axl!" A streak of blue and yellow burst through the other Reploids, wrapping their arms around me and pressing their face into my chest. "Please. fight it, Mr Axl. Please, wake up!"

Holding back my laughter was impossible. I grabbed the Reploid by the hair and held her up to my face.

"Little Axl is gone."

I was about to bite into her face when a bullet shot through my fangs, making me drop her.

"Cinnamon, get out of the way!" another blonde snapped.

"P-please wait, Ms Pallette!" the other girl stood up and spread out her arms. "He's obviously corrupted, but this is still Mr Axl! If you hurt him, you'll be hurting your own Hunter!"

"Quite frankly-" She hovered over the younger girl and started shooting at me. "- **I don't give a damn**!"

Her shots were easy to evade. I eventually made my way in the air to punch her into the wall. When I landed next to her to bite into her, she punched me off and kicked me.

"Who are you?" she growled as she held her pistol up. "How have you taken over Axl's body?"

I chuckled.

"My name is Lumine," I said, "and I just so happened to implant myself in his strong and sturdy little body right before X murdered me."

Axl's p.o.v.

The sounds of flesh violently clashing awoke me from my sleep. I was in the dark room from my nightmares.

"D-don't tell me-" I started banging on the walls. "X! Zero-"

Pallette's p.o.v.

"-it's gonna kill you!"

My eyes widened when I heard a childish voice coming out of the Maverick.

"Axl?"

The purple Reploid aggressively grabbed his head, groaning and cringing.

"Damn it," he growled, "the brat's waking up..."

I smirked.

"So you _are_ still in there, are you, you idiot?" I charged back at him. " **Time to wake _up_** _!_ " My fist slammed into his face, knocking him into the wall.

I stood up straight, tightly holding my pistol towards the Maverick as sweat dripped down my face.

"P-Pallette," a familiar voice whimpered. My enemy reached out his hand towards me, a look of desperation and fear over the mask. "Help me..."

" **Axl**!" I charged towards him, on the verge of tears. My only friend was right in front of me, about to be lost forever. His green eyes started to turn to a shade of yellow as a smirk replaced his whimpering.

Our fingers weaved through each others, as I punched him in the face with my other hand. We were both silent for several seconds.

"... Pallette..." The Reploid I knew to be my dimwitted Hunter looked up at me, crying. "Pallette... Help me..." I pulled him towards me, wrapping my free arm around him, still holding his hand. " **Please help me,** **I'm scared!** "

His sobs rang right next to my ears as I kept my arm around him.

"Axl," I said, "quickly, deactivate yourself." The sobs were caught in his throat. "You have to do it soon, before Lumine wakes up." My hand moved to cup his shoulder. "I'll be next to you the whole time, I promise."

Axl didn't respond, which was a good enough answer.

"... Cinnamon."

"Y-yes!?"

"Quickly, get rid of Lumine before he wakes up."

"R-right."

Axl's p.o.v.

I slowly opened my eyes to see two worried blondes staring at me. There wasn't a voice, there was just complete silence.

"Axl?"

"P-Pallette... Sarah..."

Cinnamon started crying as she tightly held my hand.

"You're not even trying anymore!"

 _Shit!_

"Axl...," Pallette slowly said as she held my other hand. "You had me scared half to death!" She tightly wrapped her arms around me. "I'm so glad you're safe!"

Heat rushed to my face as I slowly held her back.

"I-is it all over?"

"... Yes," Pallette said. "It's all over."

 **A/N: Or is it? Well, I'm not done with this story yet, so I guess not. I wanted to thank all of you for the reviews. How about we try to get ten reviews in total before the next chapter? Huh? Huh? =3 I'm asking too much. XD Anyways, I'm glad to know people still like my stories. See ya chumps next chapter. ;)**


	8. The voice pt 2

Lumine's p.o.v.

After they removed my conscience from Axl's body, they put it in a small container on a shelf.

I sat there for hours, waiting for a new vessel to walk by. Eventually, a purple Reploid walked in to curiously stare at me.

Axl's p.o.v.

I was lying down in my pod indulging in the peace I'd desperately been longing for when I realized that the large, broken blue jewel on my head was missing.

I knew Cinnamon must had taken it off to remove Lumine from my code, and figured she probably just forgot to put it back on.

Someone knocked on my pod.

"Axl?"

The lid to my pod opened to see Pallette standing next to me, seeming oddly nervous.

"Yes?"

"I uh..." She held up my gem, which seemed devoid of any cracks and even looked like it'd been polished. "I fixed your head gem for you."

"Really?" I took it from her hands. "It looks great!"

"I only did it because you were too lazy to get it fixed yourself, it was bothering me."

I screwed it into my helmet, looking at myself in the reflection in my pod's lid. It honestly looked better than it ever had.

"So~" I put my arm around her. "Now that that bastard Lumine's out of my bed, how about you and I finally go on a date."

She stood in silence for a moment.

"Actually-"

"Axl!" A streak of blue burst into my room, tightly embracing me.

"Eh-X?"

My leader stood in silence, keeping his arms around me for a few seconds before asking,

"Are you all right?"

I slowly raised my hands up to touch his back.

"Yes, sir..."

Zero's p.o.v.

X had burst into the HQ the moment we were in eyesight, no doubt worried about our minor Hunter.

I ran in after him, until I saw my Navigator in front of me.

"Layer," I said as I came to a stop. "Um-" My face burned. "-about what I said earlier-"

She charged at me with her Rapier.

 **A/N: Yes, yes, I know, this chapter was extremely short. But I'm extremely busy with school, and I hate not being able to upload, so sadly this is as best you'll get. But really, thank all of you for reviewing. This is becoming the story I wanted the original Maverick Hunter Academy to be. I dare even say, this is better! Thanks for the many reviews, it really makes my day. =D**


	9. New Vessel

Zero's p.o.v.

I barely had enough time to block her attack by the time I saw it coming. Our weapons pushed against each others, hers trying to break through my defenses to kill, while I was standing there doing what I could to protect myself, confused at her actions.

"What the fuck are you doing, Layer!?"

An unfamiliar voice chuckled from her lips as she jumped away.

"Is that this woman's name? Layer?" The voice was deep, and treacherous. "Her body is way more satisfying than little Axl's."

My eyes narrowed as my fingers tightened around the sheathe.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Did you forget me already, little Zero?" Layer's armor grew a lighter shade of purple, and a streak of white ran down her bangs. "I'm Lumine."

Axl's p.o.v.

"Are you sure you're ready for another mission? Do you think you should stay in the repair room for a while?"

"X, I'm fine. I just wanna shoot some bastards!"

X had been hovering over me like a worried mother for several minutes, while I constantly told him I'd recovered from a few hours of rest.

Pallette punched my head.

"You should rest for at least a day until we can confirm that there were no side effects to Lumine's residence in your hard drive," she snapped. "Can you not wait-"

A loud crash sounded from outside as Zero fell through door, a scar ornamenting his left eye.

"Zero!" X and I cried in unison.

A low voice chuckled outside the broken door.

"It's amazing. Her body is beautiful _and_ strong."

I nearly lost my consciousness.

"Th-that voice," I stuttered as I took a step back, trembling. "Th-that's the voice... that I heard..."

Layer walked inside the room, her eyes seemingly a brighter shade of yellow, and a white streak going down her purple bangs.

"You bastard," Zero growled as he sat up. "What the hell did you do to Layer?"

A moment after Lumine stepped in, he held his head, moaning.

"Get out of my body," he said, sounding more like our shy Navigator.

Lumine chuckled again.

"You're not quite as strong as little Axl, Miss Layer, but you're quite as stubborn."

He turned around and sprinted away.

"Get back he-" Zero fell over on his side.

I was deaf to X's calls for his friend. I sat down against the wall, holding my head, repeating over and over,

"The voice... that voice... that voice..."

X's p.o.v.

"I hope you three don't intend on leaving Layer to be that creep's new puppet," Pallette said angrily.

"No, of course not," I replied. "But we can't just charge in now. Last time we took on Lumine he nearly killed us, and Axl still hasn't fully recov-"

"Have you already forgotten than I run the R&D lab?" the blonde asked smugly as she waved her finger. "I can have you boys upgraded in just a few seconds."

" _That's_ my baby!" Axl chimed as he put his arm around her. "Damn, girl, you're really gonna have to marry me after this!"

She moved his arm off.

"If you want me to kill you, maybe."

 _Was that- Did Axl force his usual attitude? Or did I imagine that?_

Pallette was right, it did only take a few seconds to extend our health and power-up our weapons. We used the remaining metals we had to get three life bottles, knowing we'd need them.

"Now, if I have to force Lumine out of Axl again, I'm going to have to kill you both."

"Relax, honey, I'll be fine," Axl said as he twirled his pistol around his finger. "I was hoping I'd get to destroy that bastard that took over my mind, anyway."

 _There it is again,_ I thought. _It seems like he's pretending, no, forcing himself to have his normal personality._

"And don't worry about having to track her down," the blonde Navigator said as she took off her glasses. "Layer has a tracking device on her, just like the rest of us Navigators do."

On the way out, I passed a familiar pink Reploid. I turned around to face her, and she turned to face me. She stared at me seemingly on the verge of tears, while I softly frowned back.

Alia sighed.

"I can't stop you, can I?"

I gently grabbed her arms.

"Yes, I'll admit, Lumine nearly killed me the last time we took him on," I said. "But I promise, I will come back. And once I do, it'll just be you and me."

We inched closer to each other, gently entering through our doors. She looked up at me once we separated, her caring blue eyes stained with tears and a trusting smile on the lips I had touched.

"Damn, save some for the wedding."

I chuckled. _I can't believe I was ever scared of her._

"That was just an appetizer."

With a pat on the shoulder, I left her. The tears left her eyes as she smiled after me.

"Keep your speakers on!" she called. "I'm going to keep my promise! I'm going to guide you until this is all over!"

I smirked as I continued to run out the door.

Zero's p.o.v.

It only took us a few hours to find Lumine. He was hiding in a small cave, admiring a part of Layer's body where her chest plate used to be.

A scowl cross my face as I charged towards him, gripping my Saber.

" **You pig**!"

"Zero-"

He dodged my swing, jumping onto a nearby rock.

"Aw, and just when I was getting to the good part."

X shot a charged up shot his way, missing his head by an inch, instead blowing a tear through Layer's long purple hair.

"We're here to take our Navigator back."

Lumine laughed.

"It's too late. She's weaker than little Axl. She's already surrendered to me."

I felt something in my code snap. My armor turned to a shade of black, as my hair turned a brighter yellow, and the gem on my forehead darkened.

Screaming, I charged at the Maverick, who started laughing at my power-up.

"Oh, it's that fun thing you did when we first fought!"

Axl's p.o.v.

Hearing that monotone laugh again paralyzed me. The laugh that tortured me, the laugh that made me kill Miss Kamuzo, the laugh that made me attack my Pallette.

A gentle grip wrapped around my hand.

"Geez, seeing you like this really brings back memories," X said warmly. "You don't have to be afraid of him anymore." He smiled. "Your brothers are here with you now."

Soothing warmth ran through my code, ceasing my trembling. My usual excited smirk crossed my lips as I gripped his hand back, holding up my pistol.

"Who said I'm afraid? I'm more than over joyed to be able to settle a score with this mind controller!"

"Hmp." He started charging his Buster. "That's the spirit, now go hold him off with Zero while I charge up here."

"You got it, boss!"

Layer's p.o.v.

" **Get out of her body, you bastard**!"

 _Zero...?_

I heard a raging voice from behind my closed eyes. I craved to have that voice right next to me, but my body wouldn't move, no matter how much I struggled.

My hand tore from the wall as I reached out towards the voice.

 _Zero..._ "Zero...!" My eyes opened. " **Zero** **!**

" **Layer**!"

 **A/N: ZERO! LAYER! XD Anyway, another short chapter, but I'm still busy, and I wanted to get this out. So that's all for now. I do plan on finishing this before Lent is over. So next chapter might be next one, or one after next. Want a clue to what happens? Well, there will be a moment representing a ZeLay deviation. ;)**


	10. Layer's saved

Zero's p.o.v.

Lumine took several steps back, holding his head and screaming in pain. His voice seemed to switch from that of the Maverick's, to our purple haired Navigator.

" **Da-** -ro! **Stop resis-** -lp me!"

"Layer," I whispered. _I have to save her. But if I attack now as she's resisting, she'll get hurt_! Just looking at my partners' faces told me they were thinking the same thing.

"-ack me!" I blinked when I heard Layer's voice. " **Stop struggl** \- -ack me, Zero! Do-" Lumine's voice stopped midway as he spread apart his legs and held up his arms. Layer looked up at us. "Quickly, attack me! I don't know how much longer I can keep him away!"

"Layer..."

It looked like it was taking everything for her to speak and keep Lumine under control at the same time. Frustration stung my eyes as my muscles pulled my saber behind my head. Screaming, I thrust the green blade down her left arm.

The purplette fell into my arms, panting.

"Ze... ro..."

"Layer!"

"Miss Layer, are you okay!?"

Layer looked up, on the verge of tears. A sharp pain struck my core.

Axl's p.o.v.

The black in Zero's armor turned back to its shade of bright red, as his eyes stared blankly ahead, a Rapier piercing his armor.

" **Zero**!"

Lumine started laughing as he tossed Zero to the side.

"Amazing! So in this beautiful body, I also get the natural ability of using a Rapier," he said, amazed. "And sorry, but I'm since little Layer was in control, all you've managed to do is hurt her."

My eyebrows narrowed at the sound of that voice. I looked down at my paralyzed superior before shooting the purple Reploid repeatedly.

The bastard managed to evade most of my bullets, painting an angry smirk on my face.

X knelt down next to Zero.

"Zero! Are you okay!?" he cried as he pulled out a Life Bottle.

My incessant shots continued to fly towards the Maverick, each missing him as he laughed joyously. I ceased fire when a commanding touch gripped my handing holding the gun.

"You need to calm down, rookie," my superior said, staring at Lumine. "You're never gonna get the job done if you're so anxious."

His hand turned into his X-Buster. It started charging, still right next to my pistol.

Lumine looked up and charged for us.

"Just wait," X whispered.

Right when our Navigator's shell was an inch close to us, we let loose our fire simultaneously.

Layer's p.o.v.

" **Layer**!"

A familiar deep voice cried out from behind the dark voice. Hearing it caused the void to fade as I began to see a surface of blue rushing towards the area above me.

Zero was right above me, the blue surface running past him, as well.

"Z..." I reached out my hand. " **Zero**!"

" **Layer**!"

Our fingers slowly weaved together. In an instant, I felt my core sink towards the green are below us. Zero was tightly holding me in one arm, and pushing against the ground with his other.

"Z-Zero..." I wrapped my arms around his neck. "Please tell me it's over...!"

"Almost. Right now, I need you to deactivate yourself."

A chill bit my center. I pulled myself closer to the red clad Hunter, struggling to keep my voice straight.

"Promise I'll wake up..."

He put his hand on my back.

"You _will_ wake up."

With his comforting hold around me, I let my consciousness slip again, fading into his warmth.

Pallette's p.o.v.

It only took a few hours to remove Lumine from Layer's hard drive. X and Axl had knocked him unconscious when they fired, so there were no obstacles.

When Layer woke up, Zero surprised her with a tenacious hug, which nearly made her faint. Layer's so hilarious when she's around Zero.

Once Alia began to cry from joy, I walked out from the scene under the naked black sky littered with white dust. A sigh escaped my lips as I leaned my chin against my palm.

A heavy weight landed on my shoulders, a long yawn sounding from behind me.

"Phew, what a day!"

"Get off me!" I cried as I punched him off of me. "What do you want? For the final time, I don't want to date you."

Axl stood up and rubbed his wounded nose.

"Actually, Pallette, I wanted to say thanks," he said with a smile. "You were the one who saved me from Lumine, weren't you?"

"Cinnamon removed him from your hard drive."

"Only because you knocked him out cold." He hugged me from behind. "That's why you're my adorable heroine! Thank you so much!"

I felt heat rise to my face. I knew I should've been angry that he was invading my personal space, but the feeling didn't come. Still, I felt the need I had to be mad.

"G-get off of me, you moron!" I snapped as I pushed him off. "Wh-what the hell's wrong with you!?"

He laughed and stood next to me.

"In case you haven't noticed by now, I'm extremely in love with you!" he chimed. "And I'm never leaving you alone until we go on a date."

I was silent for a moment, then averted my eyes with a pout.

"Fine."

"Huh?"

"I said I'll go out with you."

" **Really**!?" My Hunter looked as if he would pass out at any second. "Y-you really mean that!?"

"Yes, I do, so leave me alone!"

He pumped his fists in the air and cheered.

"Alleluia! It's great to be alive!"

I turned my head away.

"It's not like I want to date you, or anything, this is just so you'll stop sexually harassing me already."

He hugged me again.

"All rightie, it's a date!"

My face completely red, I patted his arm and let him hug me for a while longer. Even though I was pouting, I kind of enjoyed it.

X's p.o.v.

A beautiful blonde Reploid slowly came closer to me in a long, white dress. Her face was the happiest I'd ever seen it, almost as if she were about to cry from happiness. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't about to, myself.

Alia eventually came by my side, holding my hands gently. We stared into each other's eyes, deaf to the rest of the world until the words,

"Do you take Alia as your wife?"

"I do," I said with a slight nod.

"And, Alia, do you take X as your lawful husband?"

"I do," she replied.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife."

She reached up to me, entering me with a smile on her face. I opened my doors, as she opened hers. When we separated, we continued to stare at the other, our tears escaping.

 **A/N: THERE! FINALLY! DONE! Sorry the final chapter was mediocre, I'm not too good at writing climaxes. =( And, even though a lot of people like this story, I'm aware it has it's problems. This ending for one thing. And also, this has little to do with my original story 'Maverick Hunter Academy,' even though it's supposedly a sequel. So there's that... But, thank you all so much for reading and for reviewing! ^u^ So, I'll be continuing 'God's Test,' and my next story will come out sometime around late April. I'm waiting to write both, because I gave up both series for Lent. Should I give you a hint what the next story will be based on? OBJECTION! Hints are overrated! Never mind!**


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